Chapter 1577: Chapter 78: Visitors from Afar (Part 2)
Both sides had leverage, and both needed so ti to lick their wounds, so the negotiation table beca the new battleground, and the exchange of personnel was put on the agenda.
Regarding the prisoner exchange, the Kingsfort side was very cooperative, and Jansen Cornelius readily agreed to the list proposed by Maplestone City.
To show sincerity, he sent a ship in advance to bring Colonel Bod’s widow and daughter back from Guidao City, escorting them with courtesy to the Newly Reclaid Land.
In response, the senior officers of the New Army—especially Gessa and Winters—felt a sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted from their hearts.
Although Gessa typically jabbed at Jansen Cornelius’ backbone, angrily calling him “a beast who uses widows and orphans to curry favor,” he was still genuinely happy that Colonel Bod’s wife and daughter could safely return to Paratu.
In private, Gessa even confided to Winters, “Luckily, Mrs. Bod and the young lady were unhard. If anything had happened to them, I would have had no choice but to kill The Viper and Cornelius first, and then blow my own brains out at the old ghost’s grave.”
On the other hand, the senior officers of the New Army unanimously believed that Jansen Cornelius was so cooperative because he wanted to stabilize the Newly Reclaid Land through the prisoner exchange.
Therefore, although the Kingsfort side was very active in confirming the list, they might deliberately slow down the actual operation to gain more ti.
After all, Jansen Cornelius was probably already overwheld.
Because the place most affected by the “Battle of Jade Crossing” wasn’t the Newly Reclaid Land, nor was it South Paratu.
The aftermath of this battle presented an unusual pattern—the further from the battlefield, the greater the impact.
For Maplestone City, the victory at Jade Crossing rely patched up the face of the New Army, making the defeat look less embarrassing.
Because when the New Army set out full of vigor, their sabers pointed directly at Kingsfort.
The citizens of Maplestone City and the public of the Newly Reclaid Land generally believed that in this battle, the New Republic would take all of South Paratu.
Everyone was expecting a great victory.
However, the aggressive New Army was t with a setback at Kingsfort, forcing them to retreat to the Newly Reclaid Land to regroup.
Even the citizens who trusted the New Army the most could not help but harbor doubts facing this stark contrast.
What does it matter if a victory was achieved during the retreat if the most important goal wasn’t accomplished?
Thus, Magash Colvin’s “conquering of the Northern Foothills Province with one county, one regint” was overshadowed, making it seem dull and dim.
As for what [Steadfast] is, how formidable it is, how difficult it is to encircle and annihilate, and what the impact of its defeat will be… Sorry, even the ordinary people of the Newly Reclaid Land, let alone the mbers of the National Assembly, couldn’t explain it clearly.
So, for the New Republic of Paratu, the Battle of Kingsfort was an embarrassing defeat, whereas the Battle of Jade Crossing was a victory that didn’t receive due attention.
Conversely, for the people at Kingsfort, the Battle of Kingsfort was a victory that didn’t receive due attention, but the Battle of Jade Crossing was an embarrassing defeat.
Therefore, when news of Alda’s surrender ca, the officers at the Southern Army Command didn’t dare report it imdiately for fear that the commander-in-chief might die on the spot from rage.
When Jansen Cornelius arrived in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses with a thousand soldiers and twenty cannons, no one believed he could hold Kingsfort.
But he did.
No matter how difficult, painful, and ugly it was, at the mont when the silhouette of the “Rebels” disappeared over the horizon, Jansen Cornelius was the undisputed victor.
Even those at Kingsfort who had preemptively prepared Fourth Republic flags tipped their hats in respect to him.
Then Vansco Alda ruined everything.
The cold water at Jade Crossing extinguished Kingsfort’s flas.
If “Rebels” on the retreat route could still easily defeat a United Province corps, it indicated they weren’t seriously wounded and would eventually return.
What would be done then?
Could Jansen Cornelius work another miracle?
Even staunch Red Rose supporters worried about this.
As consequences clash, in South Paratu, whether in Red Rose’s territories or the New Republic’s domains, public opinion grew cold.
The future beca obscure, and nobody dared to express their positions publicly, keeping their anxieties hidden while continuing with their lives as usual.
But beyond South Paratu, the situation was completely different.
The Battle of Jade Crossing hit the Various Republics as hard as an earthquake.
[Steadfast]’s defeat shook the Inner Sea.
Before the Western Front, a much-prioritized area for the United Province, had even begun, one of the Western Army’s main corps was gone.
It was like a stool falling apart before it had even been sat on, with one of the four legs being chopped right off.
Who could stand for this?
Moreover, for United Provincials concerned with politics and military, the situation in Paratu was not seen through the sa lens as by the New Reclamation People or Kingsfort people.
One could say, starting from three years ago, no good news ca from Paratu.
First, the Paratu People suffered a big defeat in the west and turned around to default on bonds;
Then, the obligatory sheepn turned on each other, and even the wool couldn’t be exported anymore;
And then, when the United Province intervened in the Paratu civil war, the more they ddled, the worse the situation beca;
The faction supported by their country, which occupied the capital and was the most legitimate side, first lost Jiangbei Province, then the Newly Reclaid Land, and then the entire main force in the Newly Reclaid Land;
Before the harsh impact of these successive bad news dissipated, another corps was lost? And it’s [Steadfast]?
Why is everything about Paratu always so disastrous?!
So, once the news of Alda’s surrender reached the United Province, it instantly caused an uproar in Guidao City.
The United Provincials were in an uproar, and the National Assembly held a full assembly for three consecutive days, with the audience packing The State Palace to the brim.
Seeing the situation, Speaker Richard Mayerhaus decided on the spot to change the venue to Martyrs’ Square.
Thus, in the square where 1,714 martyrs slept, and under the obelisk commorating “those who stepped up,” national representatives took turns on stage, harshly criticizing the army for defying orders, being disobedient, treating the nation’s army as private property, being recklessly bold, and acting arbitrarily.
In the end, when a representative on the obelisk cursed, the crowd in the square shouted along.
All the discontent about the army within the United Provinces Republic over the past thirty years was unleashed at that mont.
The frenzy peaked when Richard Mayerhaus, Secretary of State and Speaker, made his appearance.
Richard Mayerhaus denounced the army for acting independently, harming the national interest for selfish desires.
Although his words were not much different from those of the earlier representatives, Richard Mayerhaus wasn’t known for eloquence or charisma.
But in Martyrs’ Square at that ti, he was the most skillful speaker in the world.
Every word he said received a thunderous response.
At the climax of his impassioned speech, Richard Mayerhaus even threw away his prepared speech and perford a classic reenactnt, facing the direction of Paratu and shouting three angry phrases:
“Vansco Alda! Give back my corps!!!”
The crowd in the square, infected by the emotions, shouted in unison: “Give back my corps!”
Finally, the United Provinces National Assembly adopted a representative’s proposal by collectively chanting it three tis, officially appointing Richard Mayerhaus as “Speaker of the Entire Assembly and the Supre Congress” and “Chief Secretary of State,” concurrently granting the Chief Secretary of State the identity of the highest military commander of the United Province and full authority over the appointnt and dismissal of army and navy officers.
Still, there were observant individuals who noticed that although the newly appointed Chief Secretary of State harshly criticized the army and took the opportunity to regain formal control over the army, he made no ntion of changing the current foreign and dostic policies, especially the policy of intervening in the Paratu civil war.
The clouds above grew thicker, and the low-hanging shadows seed to press on the obelisk’s peak.
Among the clamor, the martyrs interred at the square’s center remained silently.
The United Provincials angrily questioned, “How could this happen?”
On the other side of the Inner Sea, the Venetians eagerly asked:
“Who is responsible?”
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